Black Mesa Transit System
The Black Mesa Transit System, or tram, is the extensive monorail network linking the many different Sectors of the Black Mesa Research Facility. The Transit System is the primary form of transportation throughout the facility, which uses the monorail system, a transportation system based on a single beam. Provided for the security, comfort, and convenience of the Black Mesa personnel, residents, and visitors,Half-LifeHalf-Life: Blue Shift it is managed by the Black Mesa Transit Authority. Overview Each train consists of a single monorail car driven automatically. It includes seats, a wheelchair space, windows, speakers, and an electric door. There are a total of 32 trams in the facility. The Transit System is prominently featured in Half-Life and its expansions. Black Mesa employees use it to travel from their dormitories to their workplace, do their laundry, entertain themselves in recreation areas, or eat in food courts. The protagonists of the game use the Transit System before and after the Black Mesa Incident to get around the facility. Gordon Freeman and Barney Calhoun, for example, ride a tram to work from their dormitories shortly before the incident. Adrian Shephard also briefly hitches a ride on a damaged tram before being left behind by the USMC. After the Black Mesa Incident, the majority of the Transit System was in shambles, thus preventing the majority of the personnel from using it, like Gordon Freeman. The Black Mesa Transit System should not be confused with the Sector E Materials Transport, the dilapidated freight monorail network. Lines and other areas The network is divided into four colored lines linking the seven main Sectors, as well as other areas, and sub-lines. Each line serves three or four areas. Main colored lines Red Line *Level 3 Dormitories *Sector G Hydro Electric *Area 3 Medium Security Facilities *Freight Yard Blue Line *Sector C Test Labs *Sector B Coolant Reserve *Area 9 Central Transit Hub Green Line *Level 1 Main Facility Entrance *Sector E Biodome Complex *Area 7 Recreational Facilities *Sector A Training Facility Yellow Line *Sector D Administration *High Altitude Launch Center *Sector F Lambda Complex Sub-lines Each Sector has apparently its line, a sub-line to the overall network. Only three are seen/mentioned during the games: Sector B Line A medium-security line where can be found the Area 9 Security Checkpoint, it is the line taken by Barney Calhoun from Area 8 Topside Dormitories through the East Personnel Entrance, and leading to Area 9 Central Transit Hub. Along Sector B Line can be seen a fast food outlet, a lab, and a lavomat. East Personnel Entrance Connects Area 8 Topside Dormitories to the rest of the facility through the Transit System. Above it floats an orange flag of Black Mesa. Its name suggests there are other such entrances. Area 9 Security Checkpoint Likely located not far from Area 9 Central Transit Hub, Area 9 Security Checkpoint is first seen during Barney Calhoun's tram ride at the start of Blue Shift. There Barney Calhoun leaves the line he took at Area 8 Topside Dormitories to the Sector C Line. Area 9 Security Checkpoint apparently acts as one of the many transit security checkpoints throughout the Transit System. Trams that pass through that checkpoint can be rerouted to the Sector B, C, and E Lines. Sector C Line A medium-security line, it is connected to Area 9 Security Checkpoint, Level 3 Dormitories, Area 3 Medium Security Facilities, and Test Labs. Gordon Freeman and Barney Calhoun take it to reach their respective workplaces on the day of the Black Mesa Incident, Barney from Area 9 Security Checkpoint, Gordon from Level 3 Dormitories.Half-Life Before the Test Labs stop, the line passes beside another, leading to Level A of Sector E Subsurface Transport, and taken by Adrian Shephard after leaving the Infirmary.Half-Life: Opposing Force Sector E Line Connected to Area 9 Security Checkpoint, it is located below the Sector B Line and above the Sector C Line. Its directions are unknown. Sector E Subsurface Transport Level A of this Black Mesa Transit System section can be accessed from the Sector C Line, where the G-Man is first seen in Half-Life, and leads to an unnamed area where the first Shock Trooper and zombie security guards are encountered. Other Area 9 Central Transit Hub Also named "Area 9 Transit Hub", Area 9 Central Transit Hub''Half-Life'' is only mentioned and never actually visited. It is apparently the only Transit System station where high-security trains can be boarded. Area 9 Central Transit Hub is also the original final destination of the tram used by Barney Calhoun through the Sector B Line, before it is rerouted to the Sector C Line. It is connected to the Blue Line of the Black Mesa Transit System.Black Mesa Transit System map Behind the scenes Half-Life and Blue Shift start on a tram that the player cannot leave before reaching the intended destination. This obligatory ride is mostly used to slowly immerse the player into the universe. The path from the City 17 Trainstation to Kleiner's Lab in Half-Life 2 has a similar purpose, although in that case it was made so that the story would unfold at the player's own speed rather than on a fixed rail.Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar The two Pod rides in Our Benefactors serve a similar purpose in the Citadel. Gallery ''Half-Life'' File:Tram interior.jpg|Inside a typical tram in the Black Mesa Transit System. File:Barney first.jpg|Barney Calhoun knocking on the Area 3 Security Facilities door along the tracks. File:C0a0d0006.jpg|The G-Man standing in a tram with a scientist. File:Bm trainfreight variant.jpg|Freight monorail without tracks passing by. File:Loader-second.jpg|A Loader about to repair a radioactive leak under the tracks. ''Half-Life: Opposing Force'' File:Of14.JPG|Early Opposing Force screenshot, including an "Otis" security guard, a Vortigaunt and the Barnacle Gun. File:Vaguely repaired.jpg|The same spot where the Loader is seen in Half-Life, now with the leak vaguely repaired. ''Half-Life: Blue Shift'' File:East Personnel Entrance.jpg|The East Personnel Entrance at Area 8 Topside Dormitories. File:BS Cafeteria.jpg|Fast food outlet seen by Barney Calhoun along Sector B Line. File:Living Quarters Outbound2.jpg|Barney Calhoun's ride to Sector C is hindered by a scientist. File:BS scientists lab.jpg|Several scientists in a modern laboratory along the Transit System. File:Prax1.jpg|Security guard and scientist playing Prax Wars 2: Dante's Revenge in a lavomat along the Transit System. File:Prax2.jpg|Ditto. File:Shirts dry.jpg|Scientist shirts waiting to be picked up in a lavomat along the Transit System. File:Laundromat waiting.jpg|Scientist reading The Mesa Times while waiting for his laundry to be done along the Transit System. File:Mesa times scientist.jpg|Scientist reading The Mesa Times on a Transit System platform in Sector C. File:Ba maint0003.jpg|The G-Man riding a tram between Sector C and G. ''Half-Life: Decay'' File:Dy dampen0020.jpg File:Dy dampen0023.jpg File:Dy dorms0000.jpg File:Dy dorms0002.jpg File:Dy dorms005500.jpg File:Dy dorms0063.jpg File:Dy dorms0076.jpg List of appearances *''Half-Life'' *''Half-Life: Opposing Force'' *''Half-Life: Blue Shift'' *''Half-Life: Decay'' *''Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar'' References See also *Black Mesa Announcement System - Announcements on trams Category:Rail transport Category:Black Mesa Research Facility locations Category:Black Mesa Vehicles Category:Locations